Radiant in Orchid

Purple is the colour of 2014, a bold statement well at least from colour trend company Pantone. To be precise a colour called Radiant Orchid. You’ll see this colour all over the place from furnishings to nail polish. As colour trend officials Pantone influence everything in fashion, design and a multitude of products.

Pantone say this about Radiant Orchid for Beauty,

A modern and surprisingly versatile shade, Radiant Orchid enlivens the skin, making all who wear it feel more healthy and energetic. Blending both cool and warm undertones, purple is an appealing hue for distinctive combinations and flattering to many hair, eye and skin tones

However Purple is having it’s moment in hair and fits in with the zeitgeist that is Radiant Orchid. It’s now okay to have vivid coloured hair- the times they are a changing- as we see more and more vivid colours creep from street to catwalk and recording artists such as Nicki Minaj or Katy Perry. People crave something different but not in a rebellious way as alternative colour used to dictate. Purple hair would have been the choice of a punk or goth but is now worn in a subtle sophisticated and is part of the mainstream.

Kelly Osboune has had purple hair for a while  and although known for her frequent image changes this time is loathed to lose the lilac. She has tried a few variations, slightly pinker and  recently with hints of silver running through.

It’s probably the most flattering of the pastels and has a feminine air but not such an obvious choice as pink. However recently Kelly O’ hasn’t been the only one to bite the bullet. It seems La la land is falling in love with lavender. As Nicole Richie and Ireland Baldwin, emerging model and daughter of Alec Baldwin, have both plumped for purple.

So what you really want to know is how to achieve this hue with IT&LY hair colour. As luck would have it we have a violet toner in our fabulous Light+Passion range. Hey it’s almost like we knew 😉

The light and passion is a versatile intermixable palette of eight colours but we are going to concentrate on the violet one.  Use it to get a bright vibrant purple tone or pastelise to get the colour similar to Miss Osbourne et al.

Below is Linda, our Technical Manager’s recipe for getting light purple hair. Allyson Clewlow Owner of The Coach House Hair Salon has followed it to perfectly to recreate the look all of the celebrities are wearing.

Please remember the more yellow your base the pinkier the tone will come out (or more orchid-y) . So to ensure you get this colour you will need to get the base as light as possible.

How to Get Lavender/Lilac Hair 

1. Use Blondly bleaching cream with Oxily developer vol to get the hair as light as possible.
2. Using shades Platinum Blonde and Violet from the Light+Passion  Collection.
3. Mix 10 parts Platinum and 1 part Violet. Leave on wet hair for 20mins. For a stronger look add more violet.
4. Shampoo with Synergicare Immediate Repair shampoo and mask.
5. For the ultimate Kelly Osbourne glamour look, create a vintage wave and add shine with Purity Water Drops.

Light and Passion toners are fun to experiment with. You can create different pastel and vibrant effects depending on development time and whether you use them on wet or dry hair. head over to our facebook page and send us your looks!